Baptists for Separation of Church and State and for Compassionate Justice

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Is Dwight McKissic The AntiChrist???

Of course not!

But Dwight thinks that a gay man is the AntiChrist....

In late September, the Rev. Dwight McKissic made this assertion at a Values Voter Summit attended by other prominent Religious Right figures.

Rob Boston reports...

McKissic, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, put forth slim evidence for the assertion, citing a murky passage in the eleventh chapter of the Book of Daniel. Interestingly, the verse in question, Daniel 11:37, does not mention the Antichrist by name. It talks instead about a prophecy concerning a Persian king who will amass great power and oppress God’s people.

This monarch, the King James Version of the Bible says, will not share “the desire of women.”

Although other translations of the scripture differ radically, to McKissic, the KJV text is proof enough. He asked the crowd, “Could it be that the Antichrist himself may be homosexual?” Read more here.

McKissic has a history of making reprehensible Falwellian-like statements...

After Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, McKissic wondered out-loud if God sent Katrina "to purify our nation."

In the latest installment of his 13-part series entitled Possible Solutions for What Ails The SBC, popular blogger Nathan Finn writes....

Southern Baptists are not evangelistic because of the culture war....Seriously, Southern Baptists are not evangelistic because the last couple of decades our passion for lost souls has been weakened by our passion for politics. Not that Christians should retreat from politics. And not that Christians should fail to engage the culture. But Southern Baptists in particular seem to be under the corporate impression that marriage amendments, more pro-life judges, more Ten Commandments displays, government-sponsored school prayer and Bible reading, and ignoring the environment (you know, the platform of the Religious Right) will somehow soften the heart of our lost culture and make it easier to share the gospel. Whatever. I know that many probably take umbrage with this reason, but the fact remains that the people in our pews are much more concerned with gay marriage than with their lost neighbors. And so are our pastors. And so are our seminary and college students. What a terrible tragedy if conservative Christians actually “wins” America for the Religious Right while failing to truly share the gospel with lost Americans. Quit inviting politicians with vague commitments to Jesus to speak at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. Quit holding Justice Sunday rallies at churches.

Quit passing out those obnoxious voter guides at churches; you know, the ones that not-so-subtly inform people they will incur the wrath of the Almighty if they don’t vote for the candidate with a “higher” rating. Quit preaching sermon series and writing books and articles that imply the highest calling of the Christian it to elect the right politicians so they can pick the right judges. Be an evangelist for Jesus instead of an evangelist for the Republicans, and no, they are not the same thing. And they never will be the same thing (no matter how many times a Republican politician lies to you and tells you he supports your values).

Wow. I couldn't agree more...

Following that same line of thought, I propose that Partisan Personalities like the Rev. Dwight McKissic are what truly AILS the Southern Baptist Convention.

Evangelist for Jesus or Evangelist for the Republican Party?

Further, why has a faction of Southern Baptists (i.e. Memphis Declaration supporters) aligned themselves with a man who sounds more like Jerry Falwell than an "irenic conservative"???

Southern Baptists who desire reform and wish to stop their tee-pee sized "Big Tent" from shrinking should think twice before jumping in bed with a man who has become a leader in the radical Religious Right.